In the opinion of whoever wants to post one, does a highline Paul Chen (Orchid, Shinto, etc.) count as a shinken? How about Cold Steel's Warrior/Imperial series? How is "Shinken" actually defined? I was under the impression that all "Shinkens" are made in Japan but I don't think that is correct now.

Also, I was wondering in another thread if anyone has ever done (or seen) tameshigiri with a Cold Steel katana? They're beautiful swords and their claim is that they're the best, but I don't think they're very popular with the real "users". Anyone know why that is?